1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the correction of spinal deformities. Specifically, the present invention provides an improved apparatus and method for maintaining vertebrae in a desired spatial relationship.
2. Background
The human spinal column is composed of many vertebral bones stacked one upon the other, with an intervertebral disc between each pair of adjacent vertebral bones. The discs act as cartilaginous cushions and shock absorbers. The spinal cord runs in a bony canal formed by successive openings in these bones. Spinal nerves exit the spinal cord between pairs of vertebrae and supply nerve signals to and from other body structures.
Various problems with the human spine have been encountered that adversely affect its health. These problems include spinal column disorders such as scoliosis, kyphosis, spondylolisthesis, as well as traumatic events such as ruptured or slipped discs, broken or fractured spinal columns, and the like. Various forms of instrumentation and procedures are known for the surgical treatment of spinal disorders, for example, Harrington Spinal Instrumentation, Bobechko Hooks, Edwards Hooks and Rod Sleeves, Luque Segmental Spinal Instrumentation and Luque Rectangles, the Dunn Anterior Spinal System, and the Kostuik-Harrington Instrumentation.
The use of longitudinally extending surgical rods in the treatment of diseases or instability of the spine is well known in the medical arts. Such rods achieve rigid spinal fixation when mechanically coupled to bone anchors, such as hooks or screws. These surgical rods are used, generally, in pairs placed on the posterior surface of the left and right sides of the lamina of the human spine.
Some of the above systems utilize hook-type members, which are merely hooked over the laminae or on selected transverse processes of the spine. Other systems, such as the Luque Segmental Spinal Rectangles (used to stabilize spinal fractures and low back fusions), use Luque wires to secure the rectangle to the spine. In some of the prior art systems, screws are used to hold a single rod in place. In other systems, screws are used to hold a slotted plate in place, the location of the screws and slots being such that the plate is moved in order to align the plate apertures or slots with the end of the screw, a nut being used to hold the plate to the screw. With this latter arrangement there is little purchase between the plate and the screw and nut since only a small portion of the plate is engaged adjacent to the slots. Also, the plate cannot be configured to a fixed and stable curvature to follow the curvature desired by the surgeon.
Another known corrective device includes a plurality of plates. Each of the plates is secured over one end of a vertebra. Fasteners are connected to the vertebrae through the plates. A cable is then crimped in the head of the fastener to attach the cable to one vertebra. Tension is put on the cable while it is crimped to an adjacent vertebra until the desired correction is accomplished. This device can only put compressive forces on the spine so that the cables are always in tension. Once the cable is crimped in place, no further adjustment between the crimped fastener and cable is possible.
In devices utilizing rods, the corrective forces are generated by (usually) two rods that are wired around the spine. The rods may be bent to a desired curvature. The rods are not directly attached to all the vertebrae that the rods span; rather, they span numerous vertebrae and are connected to only a few vertebrae using anchors, generally hooks or screws.
One widely used anchor for rod systems is the conventional orthopedic hook having a block-shaped head portion with a central, cylindrical bore therethrough, and a hook portion. The bore of the conventional orthopedic hook is adapted to receive the surgical rod, and the head is slidably positioned over the surface of the surgical rod to the selected vertebra for attachment. The hook may have a variety of different shapes, lengths and openings to accommodate the specific vertebra to which it is to be anchored. With the hook portion properly anchored, the conventional orthopedic hook is locked to the surgical rod either by ratchet or by one or more set screws located within the block-shaped head. However, these systems do not provide polyaxial alignments of the anchors. Rather, the anchors are fixed in a given orientation with respect to the bone and allow no movement in vivo or in response to applied loads.
Another type of anchor is a special orthopedic screw having a block-shaped head with cylindrical bore therethrough. The screw, when its threaded end is attached to the selected anatomical site, is adapted for receiving and passing the elongated surgical rod through its cylindrical bore. Since the shank and threaded end of the screw extends perpendicularly with respect to the axis of the bore, once the screw has been anchored, the position of the head, with its cylindrical bore, is fixed with respect to the spine of the patient.
If the nature of the disease of the spine should require the attachment of a number of orthopedic screws at spaced-apart anatomical sites, it will be appreciated that manual insertion of an elongated surgical rod through the bores of the several spaced-apart orthopedic screws is surgically difficult. The alignment of the axis of the bore in the head of each screw must, of necessity, bear some relationship to a common axis related to the axis of the surgical rod, which rod must be inserted through the several bores. Since the nature of the surgical operation places the surgical rod under stress, as by resisting deforming forces of the spine, it will be appreciated that proper positioning of the heads and alignment of the bores of the several anchor attachment members is of paramount concern.
Some systems have attempted to provide bone screw/rod anchor devices that include polyaxial screws, with varying degrees of success. Most systems that attempt to provide for polyaxial capabilities employ a spherical head or ball-shaped head for the screw. While this allows angulation, it also provides an undesirable structure as the spherical head takes up too much space in the construct. Moreover, such systems rely on a locking screw to apply a compressive force between the lower surface of the rod and the upper surface of the ball to “lock” the angle of entry of the screw.
Other devices have used dual rods or an elongated plate-type brace held by a plurality of plates attached to the anterior portion of the vertebral bodies. A common problem with this type of system is the use of spikes extending from the surface of the plates that will be held against the vertebral body. These spikes present a variety of difficulties for the surgeon. First, the surgeon is unable to position the plate against the surface of the vertebra to check how well the plate will sit on the vertebra in the chosen location without driving the spikes into the bone. And, once the spikes are driven into the bone, the plate cannot be repositioned, for example, to relocate a screw hole away from a damaged portion of the vertebral body. Even if it is unnecessary to relocate the entire plate, these spikes also prevent the surgeon from being able to make small adjustments in orientation since the plate is firmly fixed by the spikes penetrating the vertebral body.
Another problem is the use of parts that require precise alignment to properly mate. One example of this is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,431. This device uses a C-shaped cover that the surgeon must fit over two flanges while holding an elongated plate-type brace in place between the flanges. With this particular device, the surgeon must then hold the brace and the cover in place while threading a set screw through the cover to compress the brace against the mounting plate.
Recognizing that the spinal fixation systems are installed during a surgical procedure while the patient is under anesthesia, it is important that the orthopedic surgeon have available for immediate use a fixation system that has mounting elements that are easily positioned and secured to the vertebrae. The system should also include a means for attaching surgical rods to the mounting elements that quickly and easily secures the rods. In a preferred embodiment, the device should provide the surgeon with a simple, effective lock that also provides the surgeon with tactile feedback that the lock is secure. And all of these features are needed in a low profile, space-efficient device.